This Is How We Live
by shadowcaster01
Summary: "Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs, so get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your own path." A collection of oneshots and drabbles for various challenges.
1. Chapter 1

Sara Rockbell had gotten used to the harsh conditions in Ishbal as the war continued to escalate. Every day there was someone new carted into her tent to attempt to save, with her husband's help. Men, women and children of various ages found their way onto the beds, with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.

They didn't care who came in to be treated, the only thing that mattered in the end was that their patients were able to walk away with their lives. Unfortunately, not all of them could actually walk; some of the patients Sara admitted had lost their legs somewhere in the crossfire. She was sure that their indiscrimination in this case wouldn't be tolerated if anyone important found out. Not that it stopped them, anyway; being a doctor meant that she had a duty to save as many lives as she could, and politics weren't going to get in the way of that.

At the end of the day Sara would think back to each face that had to stay, and those that were unable to make it through. The loss of the children was the hardest to take; every time she thought about it Sara couldn't help the brief reminder of their daughter back home. It had been months since Sara and her husband had seen her last.

She was really looking forward to seeing her little girl again; Sara knew Winry would love to hear about all the people her parents had helped save.

* * *

_For the following on the Fullmetal Alchemist: A Bit of Everything forum._

_The A-Maze-Ing Race Challenge – Sara Rockbell_

_The Character Diversity Boot Camp - Save_


	2. Chapter 2

Scar let his arm drop to his side after the glow faded. The child before him would finally find peace after her unfortunate suffering at the hands of those state alchemists. It was reprehensible to find such an innocent soul in that state; to think that there may be others out there in the same situation as this young girl was sickening. Like him she had been wronged by alchemy, but she was safe in god's hands now.

It was for this that he kept on fighting, using the power granted him to rid the world of such evil. Those symbols scrawled on his arm would help him weed out and kill every last State Alchemist so that his people would be avenged. To use their own powers against them was almost poetic. Ishballa would lead him on until his mission ended, and then maybe he too could gain peace before he passed on; perhaps even atone for his own wrongdoings. There was nothing else out there for him to do.

* * *

…..

_For:_

_The Character Diversity Boot Camp – symbols_

_Death Fic Boot Camp - Purpose_


	3. Chapter 3

The golden light of the transmutation had mesmerized both Ed and Al, and the pair couldn't help but grin at each other. It seemed as if everything would go exactly as they'd planned; soon they'd have mom back, and everything would go back to the way it was. The very thought of it was exhilarating. Seeing mom's smile, hearing her voice again, this was all for those moments the pair missed so terribly in the time she'd been gone. They had a lot of catching up to do when this was all over.

There's a saying that only when you've reached your highest point was when the axe would fall. In this case, Ed and Al's celebration of their success was cut short as the light around them changed to a more menacing dark purple. Ed's stomach fell and a shiver went down his spine; something was wrong. Al's expression mirrored his thoughts and the two exchanged glances before returning their attention to the pile in the middle of the room.

_I don't want to do this anymore_.

Ed had read about rebounds in dad's old text books he'd left behind in his office. He'd scoffed at it at the time, but now he wished he'd actually taken the information seriously. The light was the same color, along with that overpowering sense of wrongness that permeated the air. Now they were left helpless to watch as everything they'd hoped for fell apart.

The scream from beside him alerted Ed that things were going to get even worse. He whipped his head around in time to catch Al fading away right in front of his eyes. Even reaching out to grab him did nothing for whatever it was that took his brother away from him. Ed cried out in panic, tried to pull him out, but eventually Al was gone. He'd never felt so alone before.

_Alphonse!_

That's when he noticed the pain that ripped through his leg. It was overwhelming and nauseating and terrifying all at once, especially when he looked down. Ed's leg was gone too. He knew now how stupid they'd been for even trying this; Al had disappeared and, in the middle of the circle, the smoke finally cleared enough to show them the result. It wasn't even…

No, everything was all wrong. This wasn't what they wanted, not at all. It wasn't supposed to be like this, with him all alone and nothing to gain from it. Wasn't alchemy about equivalent exchange?

_Please, I'll give up anything to get Al back. Anything!_

Ed crawled his way to a toppled suit of armor and reached inside. He wasn't going anywhere without his brother; he'd get Alphonse back no matter what! The circle began to glow and Ed passed out from the pain.

* * *

…..

_For:_

_The Diversity Writing Challenge – A #82 (write about losing something)_

_The Character Diversity Boot Camp - Lost_


End file.
